


Together we won't die

by troublemaker (shoseilovemail)



Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: Character Death, Friendship, M/M, Most of the ships are very lowkey, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23216419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoseilovemail/pseuds/troublemaker
Summary: In a world overrun by a sudden zombie apocalypse, JO1 members, split up, try to find each other again while surviving.
Relationships: Kawanishi Takumi/Kawashiri Ren, Kawashiri Ren/Ohira Shosei, Kono Junki/Sato Keigo, Shiroiwa Ruki/Yonashiro Sho
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	1. As the world comes to an end, I'll be here to hold your hand

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore spelling & grammar mistakes.  
> Enjoy.  
> \- Kukki

"Ren.. do you think we’ll be safe here? " Shosei asked as he clinged onto the older’s arm, scared.  
Ren patted his head and spoke gently "Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. "  
"But do you think that we’ll survive the isolation? "  
"We will. ", Ren said assertively.  
"We have each other. "

Shosei just nodded at that and snuggled up closer against Ren's shoulder. The old fabric building that they were hiding in was full of cold metallic walls, so the only warmth came from their portable electronic lamp, the blanket that they were wrapped up in and their bodies.

A sob escaped Shosei's lips, and Ren put his arm around Shosei to hold him close. He wanted to protect the younger one at all costs, because Shosei meant the world to Ren. It was everything he had left after the catastrophe robbed him of almost everything.  
"Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, Shosei. ", he whispered. "We'll survive, and we'll find the others. "  
Shosri quietly nodded, and closed his eyes, attempting to sleep. Ren started to stroke his hair, because he know that it comforted Shosei.  
Everything will be fine, he thought to himself. We can do this.

-

"RUKI!! "

"RUKII!! WHERE ARE YOU? ", Sho screamed as he was running. He glanced over his shoulder, and they were still behind him. He had managed to bring a good distance between him and them, but he was getting exhausted and they were getting faster. After all, zombies didn't feel things like exhaustion.  
But that wasn't his priority right now; it was finding Ruki. Making sure that he was alive and well. Because if Sho would lose Ruki, he would lose everything. That's how much the younger male meant to him.

"SHO! I'M HERE! "

Ruki's voice echoed through the forest. Sho looked around in all directions trying to spot Ruki's purple hair, and he successfully managed to find him. He was waving at Sho with one hand, the other one was holding a gun.

Sho speeded up for the final meters, and when he reached Ruki, the purple-haired one immedatly began firing shots at the zombies that were coming after them. Sho had to take a moment to pause but then he pulled out his own firearm and helped Ruki to eliminate the last few. Then he let himself drop flat backwards onto the grass, totally out of breath.  
Ruki layed down next to him.

"Could you find any hints towards the remains of the others? "

"Not really? ", Sho answered while still panting. Ruki layed his hand onto Sho's chest. "Breathe in, breathe out. ", he instructed the older one.  
After calming his breathing down, Sho sat up and pulled something out of his jacket's pocket. "I found Mame's Shiba Inu keychain. Seems like it fell off. 

Ruki eyed the small object closely. It was dirty and stained with mud, it looked it someone had stepped over it. Mame and the other younger boys had probably been in a haze running away from the zombies. "That doesn't tell us if they are alive or safe..We need to hunt for more clues. ", he concluded.

"But going out alone is too dangerous, as we realised today. ", Sho countered.

"Then we need to go together. "

Sho raised one eyebrow.  
"That would mean leaving our safe camp behind. "

"I know ", Ruki said and strechted, "but we can't hide here forever if we want to find the others. "

"True. "  
Sho sighed. "It's dangerous, but I guess we have not many other options anyways. "

"So it's settled? "

"Yes. Let's get our stuff together before another attack comes. "

-

Sukai leaned against a tree, panting. Syoya came to stop next to him, with hands on his knees. Shortly Shion and Takumi arrived, too.  
"Do you think we've managed to escape? ", Syoya asked between his breaths.  
Takumi looked around, panting as well. "I think so. "  
"I hope so. ", Shion threw in.

Sukai let himself sink onto the ground and burried his face in his knees.

"I can't believe we lost Mame. God.. I wish I would have- "

He stopped to surpress loud sobs.  
Takumi kneeled down in front of him and stroked his shoulder.  
"It's not your fault. It's not your fault, Sukai. "

Sukai just nodded between quiet sobs as the other boys joined Takumi in comforting him.

"In these times, sadly such stuff can happen any moment. But we need to focus on the now. ", Syoya said.

"You're right. ", Takumi said and stood up. "We should look for a place to hide. "

"Yes. I agree. We can't waste our time. ", Sukai admitted and stood up, wiping away his tears. "Let's go. "

The group discovered an empty house nearby. It was small and not the most comfortable to stay at, but it was enough, considering that it was getting dark already.

Shion and Takumi blocked the door and all other possible entrances with the furniture while Syoya and Sukai tried lighting the fireplace up.

They ended up huddling yogether with serval blankets that they've found for warmth.

"Do you think we'll ever find the others again? ", Shion asked while staring mindlessly into the fire.

"I don't know. ", Sukai said. "We don't even now if they're still alive. ", he continued, looking down as he remembered what happened earlier.

"I'm sure that they're alive. ", Takumi comforted him as he stroked the younger one's back.

"Right. ", Syoya agreed. "Junki and Keigo won't just die like that. Shosei has Ren and you know how Ren becomes when Shossei is in danger, and Mame is a tough cookie. They'll be fine. "

Sukai nodded and stared into the fire. 

"I hope so. I hope that we can laugh together as 11 again. "

-

"Here, open your mouth. "

"I'm not a baby anymore! ", Mame protested as Junki held out the spoon with soup to him.  
"But you're injured and shouldn't move, so just don't complain. "

Mame ends up taking it like that, since the argument of him being injured was definetly valid. He should consider himself lucky that Junki and Keigo almost immediately found him after he had fallen of the slope or he might have been eaten by the zombies. He wondered where the others were right now. Their group of 11 had been seperated into four groups from the beginning on, but after Mame feel off the slope while the group of the younger ones was running away, he had lost the others. Now he's at Junki and Keigo's shelter where they were treating his wounds.  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Four quick ones followed. Then three slower ones.  
Junki stood up and opened up the door to let Keigo in.  
"Did you find anything? "

"Sadly not ", the tall blonde-haired Keigo replied and undressed humself. "It's too dark by now. "

"I guess we have to stay here for another night. "

"It isn't thst bad here though. ", Keigo said as he sat down next to Mame's bed.  
"Are you doing better now? ", he asked the younger one.

"Yes, thanks to you. ", Mame replied with a smile. "I don't know if I would have survived without you. "

"No problem! ", Junki said cheerfully and patted Mame's shoulder. Then he frowned. "If the zombies would have just dared to touch you it would have been over with them. "

"Junki stop looking so seriousa ", Keigo laughed and that made Junki laugh as well. Mame just smiled at them. Their group may have been seperated, but at least he wasn't completly alone.

"Junki, will you do the first shift of night watch then?"

"Yeah. Get some sleep and then we'll switch. Mame, you can sleep throughout the whole night. Rest well, yeah? "

Mame nodded and closed his eyes, just hoping that they'll be fine.

-

Step after step, they're making their way up the hill. It's exhausting, and normally Sho wouldn't be this easily exhausted, but all the rush and stress from yesterday was affecting his mind. He just couldn't help but worry about if the other members were safe, if they were *alive*.  
Ruki notices Sho's distress and speeds up until he was next to him. He grapped Sho's hand tightly, reassuringly. 

"You always worry so much, Sho. "

The older one sighed.  
"I can't help but. As the oldest in our group I feel some sort of responsibility for everyone. "

"That's understandable ", Ruki replied, "but you don't have to carry that burden all by yourself. "

"But who else should? "

Ruki stopped. "Sho. ", he said with a serious tone. "You can rely on us. Not on the kids probably - but on Ren, Takumi, Keigo and Junki, on me, too. We're friends to support each other. So please promise me ", Ruki continued and placed his hands on Sho's shoulders, "trust us a bit. Don't burden yourself with this alone, because it's too much for just one person. Even for you. "

Sho was taking a moment to process what Ruki had just said but then his thoughts were interrupted.  
By a loud, shrill scream.  
A human scream.

They both immedatly turned to the direction of where the scream had been coming from; hill-upwards. Taking quick steps forward, Sho forgot all his exhaustion. Because someone was potentially in danger. And even more, the scream had sounded familiar.

When Sho and Ruki reached the top of the hill, panting but focused, with their guns ready, the saw something they hadn't expected 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

There was Junki laying on the ground - he seemed to have stumbled over a quite big tree root - with a chuckling Keigo and a clueless Mame trying to help Junki up next to him.

Sho almost dropped his gun.

"Junki! Keigo! And oh gosh, Mame! I'm so happy that you're alive! ", he shouted while running towards them with open arms. The other three were a bit surprised and overwhelmed, but returned the hug since they we're equally happy.  
Ruki just casually walked up to them and smiled at them. 

"It's really good to see you again, guys. "

-

When Shosei opened his eyes, Ren wasn't there. Shosei panicked for a moment, but then he could spot the older one's silver hair in the distance, looking out for potential danger.  
Shosri rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, which made Ren notice him. The older one turned around and walked up to Shosei, seemingly in good spirits.

"You finally woke up! "

"Yeah ", Shosei replied with a soft smile. He looked around. "How's the situation?"

"Okay, I guess. The zombies difn't move at night. But we're still seperated from everyone and I have no clue where they might be. "

"We'll surely find them. "

"It's good to see you being positive, Shosei. "

The younger one chuckled softly and stood up. "That's how we need to be now. "

Ren smiled at him, then he suddenly leaned forward and hugged Shosei tightly.

"Shosei ", he mumbled, "if I ever were to lose you I would probably lose myself as well. "

"I'll protect you no matter what, because you mean the world to me. "

-

Takumi stared into the sky. He was sitting outside, all by himself. He thought about the last two days that had passed by so fast. So much happened, and so fast. It had begun with just one infected person, but then the virus spread over masses, turning them into heartless zombies.  
They were all together when the flood had came. But they ran into different directions; Sho and Ruki into the forest, Junki and Keigo into the fields, Ren and Shosei towards the factory square and the rest into the mountain area. Now they were each on their own. Takumi just hoped that everyone was still alive.

"Are you worrying about the others? ", someone interrupted his thoughts.  
It was Shion who sat down next to Takumi.

"Yes.. I know that they're all strong by thrmselves, but I still can't help but worry so much. ", he said and frowned.

"I understand... ", Shion said. 'But you know, ", the younger one continued, "we should focus on ourselves for now. "

Takumi nodded. "You're right. "

"And about the others... ", Shion folded his hands together and closed his eyes.

"Are you praying? ", Takumi said and laughed.

"Tz, don't laugh at me. I wished for us to meet again so maybe it'll work! "

Takumi looked into the sky again and wished for that, too. Maybe it'll really work.

"Huh? "

Shion suddenly stood up, looking tense.  
"Takumi, I heard rustling over there. Between the trees. "

Oh no. Are they coming?

"Shion, quick get the others prepared to run in case. I'll stay here. "

"Alone? "

"Trust me! ", Takumi shouted. "I have the only gun in our group. "

Shion nodded, still worried but there weren't many other options as they didn't have much time. He hurried towards the house, leaving Takumi alone.  
The pink-haired one pulled out his gun and layed his finger onto the trigger, ready to pull it.  
His eyes were focused and he quickly looked from one tree to the other, waiting for whatever had caused the rustling to appear.

There.

Someone was slowly approaching.  
Takumi held up the gun, pointing at the approaching silhouette.  
His fingers were shaking, but he had to do this.  
It was for their safety, and was the most important thing.

"Look! It's Takumi! "

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?

Takumi couldn't quite progress what was happening.

Someone had shouted his name, and in the next moment Mame was running towards him.

Mame.

Mame!

The little boy fell into Takumi's arms which made them both fall down.

"Takumi! I am so glad to see you!!! ", he said enthusiastically.

"Uhm.. Mame.. Yes I'm so glad to see you too! We thought that the worst might have happened to you.. ", Takumi said under his breath.

"Oh ", Mame said and sat up, " right after I fell Junki and Keigo found me. They treated my wounds and it's thanks to them that I'm still alive. "

"That's good. So Junki and Keigo came- "

"Hellooooo!! "  
Takumi was interrupted by Junki's loud voice before he could finish his question.  
The older one's happy smiley face appeared from behind the trees, followed by Keigo. Behind him were also Sho and Ruki.  
Takumi's face brightened up.  
They were alive. His friends were alive. His wish had come true.

"I'm.. I'm.. gosh, I have no words left. "

Junki cheerfully laughed at Takumi. "It's so good to see you again, too! "

"Coms, the others surely want to share the joy. ", Takumi answered and stood up. Together they walked to the house.

Syoya had peeked out of curiosity, but when he saw the others he lost it. He swung the door open and ran outside, puzzling the others who were really tense just a moment ago.

"MAME!!! JUNKI!!! SHO!!! RUKI!!! KEIGO!!! "

And then they realised, and ran after him, overjoyed.  
Everyone joined into a big group hug, with many tears of happiness being shed.  
Especially Sukai, who was hugging Mame tightly, sobbed loudly, but out of happiness. He thought that they had lost the youngest at Sukai's fault, but he was alive and well.

"Now we're only missing Ren and Shosei.. ", Sho announced after they had entangled.

"They surely stuck together. Ren would never leave Shosei alone. ", Takumi said, now with a serious tone.

"And they're probably still alive. I mean, we all now what happens with Ren when Shosei is in danger. ", Syoya added.  
The others nodded in agreement. Ren was so overprotective of the younger one that when he was threatened, he just went completly crazy. He didn't even care who he was hurting, as long as it meant protecting Shosei. That's how far he went for the younger boy.

"I think I might have a hunch of where they are. ", Ruki suddenly said.

"They ran towards the factory square right? There's an empty former rubber factory hall that's a bit away from everything.. they might be hiding there."

"It's not surely true, but it's surely something. ", he finished.

"Then let's go there. ", Sho concluded.  
"What other options do we have anyways? "

-

They were approaching the factory building Ruki had talked about. Though they couldn't any zombies nearby, the atmosphere was still very heavy. Something felt off.  
But they entered the huge hall nonetheless, but they were careful with their steps, because danger vould just lurk around the corner.

"Wait. ", Sho, who was at the front, suddenly stopped everyone.  
"Do you hear that? "

Everyone was quiet and tried listening. There was something.

Gunshots.

Mame frowned. He wasn't hearing that, was he? He just hoped that everything was fine. A bit shaky and very carefully, the group continued their way. They passed around a corner, and-

"DON'T COME CLOSE OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

They were faced with Ren, who was shaking and breathing heavily. His face was red and his eyes all swollen from crying. He was pointing at them with a gun that he was grabbing tightly, seconds away from pulling the trigger.  
As soon as he realised that he was pointing at his friends, he dropped to his knees, letting go of the gun that fell to the ground.

The other members immedatly rushed over to him, with Takumi being the first to reach Ren. "Ren, what happened? ", he said and shook the older who was just looking to the ground.

Mame tried to look around but immedatly covered his eyes in fear.  
As the rest of the members swayed their gazes around, it was pure horror.  
There were corpses everywhere. Zombies at least and not humans, but it was still a brutal view. Blood was splattered everywhere, on the ground, on the walls, even on Ren's clothing.  
All members had one question burning on their minds.

"What the fuck happened here, Ren?", Ruki said, still shocked.

"Right, and where's Shosei? ", Syoya said, very worried for his friend.

At the sound of 'Shosei ', Ren looked up. His expression was completly terrified.  
Then he started crying, making the members puzzled. It couldn't be. It couldn't be that...

Ren burried his face in his hands, crying even harder.  
"I am sorry, I am so sorry. ", he apologized over and over.

And there reality hit his friends.

Some started crying, like Mame and Syoya, some were just terrified at the imagination like Shion and Sukai, and the rest was just.. expressionless.  
Not because they didn't feel anything, but because they felt too much.

"Where.. is he.. ", Sho broke the silence. The oldest tried to stay strong. It was inevitable that such things happened, he told himself.  
Ren pointed to the right. "There, around.. the corner.. " his voice was very weak from all the sobbing.  
Takumi took him into his arms and stroked the older's back. He glanced at Sho. "I'll stay here.. the younger ones should too. You, Ruki, Keigo and Junki can go. "  
The chosen members nodded and, with a lowered gaze, went towards the direction Ren had pointed at, leaving the rest just there in distress. But it was probably still better than seeing... Shosei himself.

The only sounds that were audible were quiet sobs from the left behind members and the footsteps of the ones that were going. They all had a very serious expression on, just trying to prepare themselves. And they were right to do that.  
Because the scene they reached was, to say it in just one word,  
dreadful.

Shosei was laying there on a blanket that was completly soaked, and the pool of blood spread even further on the ground. His stomach was perforated with holes that seemed to stem from gunshots. There weren't many, but they had hit all the critical parts.  
What was even more painful to watch waams thst he was still breathing. Very subtly, but he was still breathing.

Shosei opened his eyes a bit, it seemed very hard for them to keep them open, because as soon as he spotted the others, he closed them again. Then he smiled lightly.  
"You've.... found.... us.. ", he said with great struggle.

The other members tried their best to not tear up, and some looked to the side the avoid the view. Suddenly Ren came from behind them. His face was just expressionless. He had already cried all of his tears out.  
"It all went so fast.. I was inattentive for a second, and a zombie attacked Shosei. When I tried to hold it back, I accidentally dropped my gun. Another zombie grabbed it and fired. It barely missed me, but Shosei... was hit badly. "

He crouched down next to Shosei, staring at the young boy, and his eyebrows furrowed in pain again.  
"I am so sorry, Shosei... I couldn't protect you. I am so sorry.. ", Ren apologized again.  
But Shosei, still eyes closed,woggled with his hand a little for Ren to take it. Shosei was not strong enough anymore to lift his hand up by himself, but at least he could signal Ren to hold his hand.

"Ren, don't be sorry.. ", he whispered.  
He opened his ones again and looked at everyone.  
Ruki, who looked to the side as their eyes met, fighting tears.  
Junki, who was just mindlessly staring at the wall behind Shosei.  
Keigo was looking down but he glanced at Shosei, noticing his glare.  
Sho, who was just staring at Shosri motionlessly.  
And Ren, who was at the edge of breaking out into tears.

Shosei smiled at all of them. "Come.. ", he mumbled and wiggled with his hand again. The others understood the gesture, stepped close and grabbed Shosei's hand.  
Now his smile was satisfied.

"My world is coming to an end.. but at least... ", he said and opened his eyes one last time, 

"at least you're all here to hold my hand."

Then his eyes shut again, and that's were it ended.

Shosei had died.

-

When the older members returned, the distress was clearly visible on their faces.  
No one dared to say a word.  
Maybe someone sobbed, cried, but there were no words.  
It was just silent for... a few minutes, maybe an hour.. no one had a sense of time. Because they were stuck in one moment.  
Even the younger members and Takumi that weren't at the scene felt with them.  
Because they could read from their older friends' faces.

After a while Sho gestured for everyone to come together into a circle.  
He took a while to find the right words and Ruki grabbed his hand to support him.  
Sho took Ruki's idea and motioned for everyone to hold each other's hands.

"I can't even say much. ", Sho said.

"I can't find the words to express what I feel. "

"I think that we all feel like this right now. ", he continued. Some members nodded at that, while some just remained motionless.

"We are lost, hurt and confused. "

"But we need to rely more than ever on each other now. ", he said, with tears welling up.

"Because in this vast, destroyed world we only have us ten. "

-


	2. Destiny makes me cry, Destiny makes me smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel/Part 2 of the zombie AU, enjoy^^  
> -Kukki

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

"Takumi, are you coming? ", Sho called after the younger one.

"Yes! ", he shouted back, "I'll just go and get Ren. "

Sho let him go, and Takumi walked towards the silver-haired one who was sitting on a car in the distance, looking up into the pale blue, almost grey morning sky.

"Ren, we want to set out now. "

Ren didn't answer, nor did he move. He just continued looking up.

Takumi sighed and shook his shoulder. "Ren! We can't stay here forever, and you can't stay in the past forever. You have to move on. "

With the last sentence Ren finally turned around. His eyes and skin were shiny, Takumi observed. He had cried again.  
Takumi took his hand off Ren's shoulder and turned around, heading back towards their truck.

"Come now. "

Ren hesitated and looked back at the sky again, but then he climbed off the car and followed Takumi.  
He was right after all, Ren couldn't stay like this forever.

-

After Takumi and Ren had come back, the group set out again. They never knew where they were going, they just drove around until they found a place that seemed safe enough to stay for some days at. They had no intentions of finding other people, because they had each other and that was enough.  
And like that, they continued with their life. It had been painful, very painful to leave their friend behind, but life had to go on. And the zombies were still out there. 

When Ren looked around, basically all members were sleeping or dozing off, except Sho in the driver's seat. Next to him in the front row were Ruki and Sukai. The middle row consisted of Keigo and Junki (who was sitting on Keigo's lap because they wouldn't have enough space otherwise), Takumi and Ren, and behind Ren was Mame who sat right to Syoya and Shion.

As Ren saw his friends' sleeping faces he couldn't help but think of Shosei. He had been so weak, he hadn't been able to protect his love though he had promised to do so. What if he really was just not strong? He was the second oldest, but he couldn't protect anyone. What if someone would die at his hand again? What if-

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand touching his shoulder.  
It was Takumi.  
"Ren, you look sad again. "

Said opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated and looked down instead.  
"Are you still thinking about Shosei? "

Ren answered with just a deep sigh.

"Look, I don't know how many times more I have to tell you, but it's not your fault. Sometimes things just happen, and we can't control that. "

"I know ", Ren said sadly. "But these feelings don't just disappear. They lurk at the back of my mind, ready to attack me whenever I think that I have one moment of peace. "

"Yeah, it's always like that. ", Takumi said and put his hand on Ren's shoulder.  
But Ren immedatly removed it.  
"The thing is, as the second oldest I feel some sort of responsibility... And when I see everyone like this, so innocent, so fragile, they remind me of... him. "

The tone in Ren's voice became so much more pained when he said that final word, it explained a lot... everything. Of course Ren had the hardest time moving on from Shosei's death, because he was the only one that had been there, he was blaming himself for everything.  
And because he had loved Shosei, truly.

Somehow that thought had always bothered Takumi. Shosei and Ren, they were cute, they loved each other and fit well together. Of course Takumi was happy for his two friends, but somehow it had always bothered him.  
Even when Shosei died, a bit more than the natural grief, he felt, in a very weird and disturbing way, glad. He knew that it was wrong, it was so very much wrong. He hated himself for feeling this way, so much, but in the end he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't help his heart beating faster whenether Ren was just remotely close to him, he couldn't help but feel the desire to hold and kiss him when he was dozing off peacefully like right now.  
But Takumi had to suppress everything, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, because he knew better than anyone else that Ren still hadn't moved on from Shosei.

The only thing Takumi could do was wait,

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦.

-

After few hours they made a stop at an empty gas station, mainly because they were running out of petrol, but some members needed to visit the bathroom and some just needed snacks.  
So they split up: Sho, Ruki and Sukai stayed at the truck to fill up the tank, while Syoya, Shion and Mame searched for the WC, and Keigo, Junki, Takumi and Ren visited the store to get food.

The store was as empty as the gas station, which was usual during these times. It was good for them, since the economy was down anyways they could just grab what they wanted.  
They only had to look out for zombies that could be hiding in some corner.

"Takumi, doesn't this look tasty?", Keigo said while holding up a bag of candy.  
Takumi shrugged. "Take it if you want. There's no one holding us back. "  
"Keigo look! ", Junki exclamed happily as he jumped onto the taller one's back to Koala-hug him, "They have carbonara cup noodles here! "  
"Wow! ", Keigo replied while laughing as Junki shoved the cup into his face. "That's cool but get it out of my face, I can't see. "

While the both of them continued to joke around, Takumi had noticed that Ren was wandering around somewhere else, headed towards the staff room at the back of the store. Takumi quickly catched up to him, asking him what he was looking for.  
"I don't know ", Ren answered and shrugged, "but where I used to work they always had a bunch of pocket knives in the staff room. These might come in handy for us. "  
Takumi wasn't too sure if they'd have them here as well, but he went with it.  
Ren entered the room first while Takumi hesitated, he looked back to the front of the store, where Junki and Keigo were still collecting snacks and shoving them into their pockets. Everything seemed fine, so he was relieved. 

However, when he turned around, he heard a screech coming from the staff room, and in the next moment Ren was already stumbling backwards towards Takumi.  
Takumi, startled and confused, was pushed backwards against the cash register while Ren stumbled further to the left and, after a short moment of hesitation, escaped from the counter area. Takumi still had to comprehend what was happening when he already saw a zombie lunging at him.

As quickly as he could, Takumi pressed his left foot into its face, and then he barely managed to escape being cornered at the counter. He had already felt the zombie's grabby hands on his leg, but he could make it to the exit.  
Junki and Keigo had already left together with Ren, and when Takumi finally reached the outside, they quickly closed the door, causing the zombie to bang against the glass.

"Keigo and Takumi, you stay here and keep the zombie captured, Junki and I will get the others. We'll give you a sign, and then you run towards the truck as fast as possible. ", Ren said while still panting, and then he was already running towards the bathroom area again, while Junki headed out to alarm the truck team.

Hindering the zombie from breaking out was not that hard as zombies weren't that strong, what made them dangerous was their speed. But as long as Keigo and Takumi kept pressing against the door, it was no problem.  
"Are you okay Takumi? ", Keigo quickly asked.  
"Yeah ", Takumi said, still breathing heavily, "I think so. "

"KEIGO! TAKUMI! NOW! "

Ren was waving at them from the truck that was ready to start with everyone inside except them two.  
Keigo immediately let go of the door and started running. Takumi took a short second to realise, but then he started running as well.  
Keigo was already entering the truck when Takumi had just reached mid way.  
But he thought that he could still make it.

Unfortunately, Takumi suddenly felt a sheer pain in his left ankle and it caused him to stumble a bit. He did not fall down, but he was forced to slow down for a second, and then the zombie was already close behind him. He could already feel the warm breath on his neck and smell the rotten flesh, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳, and then the adrenaline kicked in and he managed to get to the truck's door. Ren pulled him inside as soon as he got there, and then immediately shut the door. Sho started the engine and they drove off.

"Takumi?!? Is everything okay? ", Ren asked, almost panicking. "Are you hurt?"

Takumi positioned himself properly in his seat and buckled the seatbelt, then he took some deep breaths.

"I'm fine, but I think I hurt my ankle back in the store when I crashed into the cash register. ", he explained.

"Oh I'm sorry about pushing you ", Ren suddenly apologized. "I was in a panic and didn't realise... "

"Don't worry ", Takumi shook his head, "I can understand. It just happened.  
But for now, let's just be happy 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. "

He leaned back and closed his eyes, falling asleep immediatly.

-

𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥.

𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥.

Takumi tried to engrave that thought into his mind to overpower the sad thoughts. But they were strong, and persistent.  
Because even if he survived, did that solve his problem? Did that erase his wrong feelings for Ren?  
No.

He had to continue to live with the pain.  
The pain of having evil, jealous, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 feelings towards his best friend that was just broken.  
And Ren surely didn't feel for him. Because even now, his mind still revolved around Shosei alone. Understandable, but Takumi's feelings were irrational. He hated it. He hated it so much.

"𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘪? "

Out of all people, it was Ren who sat down next to Takumi. It was a starry night, and they were sitting on a concrete wall, a bit away from where the rest was sleeping during these hours.  
But Takumi hadn't been able to sleep, and so did Ren.  
Fate must like to mock him, Takumi thought. But he couldn't do anything about it, and he had accepted that long time ago already.

"Are you blaming yourself again? ", Takumi asked.

Ren put his knees up and under his chin.  
"... yes. "

Takumi sighed. "I already told you so many times, you don't have to. "

"But I still do. I still do everything wrong. ", Ren replied sadly and burried his face in his knees.

Takumi scoots closer to Ren in order to stroke the older's back. "I know that you do, but there's no need to. Like I said, destiny is like that. "  
Ren looked up to Takumi as the younger took his arm away, who stared into the night sky.

"Destiny makes you cry, but it also makes you smile, it's a wild mix out of both of these states, and that's how life is. "

"True. "

"See? " Takumi said and patted Ren's back. "There's no need to dwell on the past. "

"You're right. ", Ren replied and sat up straight. Then he turned to Takumi and surprisingly, smiled at him.

"Thank you, Takumi. Thank you for always comforting me. "

Takumi nodded shyly, without even realising that he was blushing.

"Takumi? Are you blushing? "

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't- " Takumi said while quickly turning away.

"Don't worry, It's okay. "

Takumi turned back and Ren looked at him seriously.  
His expression explained everything.

𝘈𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦.

It took a moment before Takumi could react in any way, but Ren chose to explain himself further.

"I know what you've been feeling. "  
"I have no problem with it.

"No ", Takumi shook his head and looked down. "It's just... I'm... "

He looked up at Ren, who was puzzled by the shiny tears on Takumi's cheeks.

"I'm so sorry to you, Ren, and to everyone. I'm so sorry that I lied to you all. "

Ren's eyes widened.

𝘕𝘰. 

𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦.

Takumi looked down again. Better now than never. They would have found out anyways. And as he drew closer to stroke the crying Ren's back again, his pants slipped up by a bit and within the moonlight shimmered the yellowish green enveloping his ankle, centered around a small bite mark.

-

Takumi stood on one side, and everyone else on the other one. All nine of them.  
Takumi had hoped that this day would never come, but it did.  
Mame looked confused, Sukai, who stood next to the youngest, was holding his hand. Shion and Syoya looked both onto the ground. Keigo hand his arm around Junki's shoulder, who looked to the side. Ren was expressionless. Ruki looked at Sho, who had his eyes closed, but then opened them to face Takumi with a serious gaze.

"I'm sorry that you have to lose someone again. ", Takumi said.

"No, don't blame youself. " Sho's tone was gentle but it had also pain mixed into it.  
"That's the fate we have to deal with. ", he said.

Ruki took out his gun, about to ready it, but Takumi shook his head.

"You don't have to do that. I don't want to burden you in that way. "

Ruki put the firearm away.  
It was silent.  
No one had any words left to say.

"Again, I'm sorry that it has to end like this. ", Takumi said with a sad voice.

"No, don't blame yourself.. ", Ren said, a tear was rolling down his cheek.

Takumi looked around. Some of the others were crying as well, some were just expressionless, but he could clearly see how pained all of them were. After Shosei, they were losing someone again.

Then, suddenly Keigo came forward, and wrapped his long arms around Takumi. The other members joined in, and it became a big group hug. Takumi could feel each of their bodies' warmth, abd he treasured it, bumecause he'll never be able to feel such warmth again.

Finally, after they had entangled, Sho spoke the last words.  
"It was great to know you, Takumi. You were a wonderful friend, and it's so frustrating that we have to leave you behind. "

"But it's fate that goes like this, and we have no choice but to accept it. We only have ourselves, and we can't leave ourselves in the past. ", he continued.

"𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘪. "

As the group turned to enter their truck some of them waved at Takumi, and some didn't because they used their hands to cover their tearful faces instead. Regardless of that, Takumi waved at everyone as the tears streamed down his face, but he had a smile on his face.  
Yes, he 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥.

Because he wasn't left back hated, but 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥.  
And that made it easier, by just a tiny bit.

-

As Ren looked out of the window, he was overwhelmed with regret and self blame. Someone had died because of him again. Well, technically Takumi wasn't dead but that didn't make it any better. First Shosei, then Takumi... all the people that he had loved. But, as Takumi had said, he couldn't do anything but accept it. Because the world moves on, even without them, as their group's destiny is spinned, with threads of both happiness and sadness.

𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha did u expect me to write a sequel without being overly dramatic and killing someone? Well, thats how i am. I hope you still liked it tho. Leave a comment or talk to me on Twitter @/shoseilovemail


	3. Déjà vu, Remedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should rather be named 'very bad plot decisions '. I hope youll still like it rip  
> Also i changed the title of the fic!!! Bc the old one felt too long

2 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

The night was dark yet starry, so the stars shined nicely down on them, illuminating their figures to some extent.  
Ruki was firmly laying in Sho's arms who was leaning against their truck.  
They were just resting there like that while the others were all asleep. None of them talked much, not even Ruki, because they didn't want they didn't want to disrupt the younger members' sleep. But Ruki couldn't let his thoughts be unspoken forever, so he decided to break the silence.

"Honestly, I am very scared. ", he whispered.

"Huh? Why? ", Sho asked, and began to stroke Ruki's hair softly.

"I'm just... afraid of continuing. "

"What if we lose someone again? What if it's me? What if it's you? ", he added.

"I just don't wanna lose anyone again. Never. ", Ruki concluded with a sad sigh.

"I feel the same. ", Sho said after a short moment of silence. "I wonder... how much more we have to lose. "

Sho's words affected Ruki deeply. He knew how much the older one cared. And he himself cared of course a lot, too. Seeing the others cry, struggle, being in pain because of the tragedies that keep happening to them, it was unendurable. How much longer do they have to bear this? How many more of them will have to die until they can be free? Will they ever be free? Can they even escape from all this misfortune?  
Ruki was scared. And he knew that Sho was scared even more.

Ruki sat up, freeing himself from Sho. He didn't turn around so he was faceing Sho with his back only. The older one was a bit puzzled by the gesture.

"I'm as scared as you, Sho. But... we can't stop here. ", Ruki whispered assuredly. He turned back to face Sho, and added "We have to continue living for those that have died. ", and smiled.

Sho was perplex for a second, then he smiled as well.  
"You're right ", he said as he sat up properly as well, "we can just try our best to protect the kids. "

Ruki nodded in agreement, then he came forward to hug Sho tightly.

"It's the best and only thing we can do. "

-

It's morning again after a short night for both Ruki and Sho. They were both tired, but the group had to move on, so they readied themselves and headed out with everyone into the vast world.

They didn't have a goal, they never had, so it was just targetless driving into basically the nowhere. It was driving all day but what else could they do? The longer they stayed at one place the higher the chance of zombies attacking them would be, and since the zombies didn't move at night they usually drove until the evening.

Sho, who was the only one with driving experience would be the one to sit in front in the driver's seat while the rest was distributed over the eight left seats.  
When they were still 11 there had been problems to fit everyone in but now as 9, it fit perfectly. To be honest, Sho didn't like that any better even if it was more unproblematic. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.   
Well, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦. Two very important people. It's been some time, but Sho can see that he, that everyone still hadn't moved on completly.  
Especially not Ren, who had lost the two most precious to him.

Sho must have looked so lost in his thought that Ruki had felt inclined to shook him back into reality by the shoulder. They exchanged glances for a second, and Ruki was clearly worried. But Sho smiled at him to show that he's okay, and then shifted his gaze back to the road.

"Look! Isn't that a train station? Everyone, wake up! ", Ruki pointed out. They've been on the road for what, 3 hours now? Sho was relieved when the station popped up in his field of vision because he was in desperate need of a break.  
He parked the car near to the station's platform and leaned back into his seat as the engine stopped, letting out a deep breath.

Sukai and Ruki were already busy waking up the other members who had been asleep, or at least half-asleep, all along the way. Out of them Mame seemed to be deep asleep and not like he'd wake up soon. They didn't want to disturb his sleep, so they left him there, together with Ren, for safety reasons.

The rest of the group walked up to the station. It looked like a bus stop as it was pretty small, and rather old-fashioned.   
"There's a timetable here! ", Shion exclaimed while pointing at a yellow piece of paper pinned to a wall. "What? Let me see! ", Syoya said excitedly and scooted over to Shion.

Ruki just rolled his eyes at them, but still smiling. "Guys the trains aren't working anyways. "

"It says that a train could come.... now. "

"As if- ", Ruki chuckled, but then Sho suddenly shook him by the shoulder.

"Ruki do you hear that? "

"Wha- " Ruki couldn't even finish his sentence before he was interrupted.

"Look!! The train's coming!! ", Junki yelled in excitement.

And indeed, there was a locomotive approaching the station from afar. It's got a good speed, making the group wonder if it'll just pass by them, leaving the station unnoticed. Why would they risk stop anyways? But there gotta be someone on board that's controlling it - so they can hope, can't they?

When it reached them they could feel the wind blasting around them,and maybe it was an illusion, but seemed to get slower... and slower... until the train stopped.

Syoya was the first to act. "Come let's try to get onto the train! ", he exclaimed and rain towards the next thing that appeared to be an entrance. However, the door was heavy and not easy to open up. Sho was already walking towards them when he heard a scream.

It didn't cam from nearby, it was a bit more far away, it came from...

"Mame and Ren!!! Look! ", Keigo yelled, pointing at the car that stood a bit in the distance. There were Mame and Ren inside the car huddling together, facing several zombies trying to destroy the truck's window.

The group immediatly rushed to help threir friends, leaving only Shion and Syoya, who were still busy with the door, behind.

There were already cracks in the front window, and the zombies continued banging onto them, not paying attention to the others, only to their victims.  
Junki pulled out his gun and shot the first one in the head. Keigo was quick to eliminate another one.  
The last one left realized that his comrades were falling, and turned around to leap at Ruki who was the closest. Luckily Sho reacted fast enough to shot before it could do anything.

"Are you okay?? "

"Yes... thanks to you guys, you saved us. ", Ren said as he exited the truck with a still scared Mame behind his back.

"Poor Mame, you must have been so scared.. " Keigo rubbed the younger one's back.

"But you're save now, so everything's great. ", Sho concluded with a sigh. They didn't lose anyone this time. Ruki also smiled satisfied at him, and he noddedback with a smile.

"Then, let's go back to- "

"GUYS!! "

𝘰𝘩 𝘥é𝘫à 𝘷𝘶

The group had just started to slowly walk back towards the station when Syoya's scream made them begin to run.

Somehow he and Shion had managed to open the door and get inside the freight train and were waving out of the window. However, first off the door had swung closed behind them again, and second, the train was slowly starting to depart.

The left ones could just watch in horror as their friends were slowly drifting out of their vision as the train departed to wherever its destination was.

𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸

-

No one was left with words. There was an almost suffocating silence, one heavier than any object could ever weigh on one. They just stood there, at the station, with no one daring to speak. Well, no one 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 say anything.

The first sounds were cries. Though muffled and supressed, the pain was clear in them, and the group turned to face the source of the cries one by one.  
They both pitied and empathized with their leader, who was breaking down, yes, the always so strong and collected Sho was breaking down. 

Messing up his hair with the hand that he usually comforted the others with, tears streaming down from eyes that looked at people gently without judgement, he was with his knees on the ground, softly banging onto the concrete with his other hand that usually only turned against zombies. The oldest was so close with his face to the ground, it was such an unusual sight to see him, who always stood so tall for the sake of everyone, curled up into such a small figure. 

It was Keigo who made the next move, as he walked up to Sho to lay his arm around the oldest's strong, yet currently so fragile-looking back. Ruki soon followed, and after him the rest of the group. It could have easily turned into the boys pilling up on Sho's back, however, they were as considerate to instead crouch down next to him, stroking his back gently to comfort him.

After a while Sho gestured everyone to retreat as he had calmed down. He sat up properly, and it was still visible in his eyes how broken he was, but he tried his best to pull himself together again.

"So what are we gonna do now? ", Mame asked, still sad, but also trying hard to not show it.

Sho just shook his head, eyes closed. "I don't know. I don't know anymore. "

Ruki sighed desperately. He was about to ssy something when Sukai interrupted him.

"Everyone come here, maybe there's still hope. "

He gestured the others to join him studying the railway map that was pinned to a pillar.  
"See, if I'm not wrong, the station we're at is this one ", he explained while pointing towards a small orange square, "and look, if you follow the yellow train line here... " The group's eyes were trained on Sukai's finger, following it until they realised-

"Ir's a circle! ", Junki exclaimed. "It's a circular train line! "

"Mhm ", Sukai hummed and nodded.

"Then we can just follow the tracks into the opposite direction, eventually we'll meet the train. ", Ren concluded and looked at Sho.

"And reunite with Syoya and Shion. ", Keigo empathised.

"I- uh, yes, sounds like an idea. ", Sho just replied.  
The others cheered and started to walk back towards the truck. Sho hesitated for a moment, he didn't know why, but then he followed them.

Sho wasn't too aware of it himself but Ruki, who could read the older one like a book, kbew. He knew that initially, after three times, Sho had lost all hope - which was more than resonable. Misfortune had been following the eleven of them closely since everything had started, and it didn't seem like it would leave them alone. After one, two, three times of losing people the despair was visible in Sho's eyes, and it was natural - Sho just cared that much. Ruki knew it, their group was like family for Sho, a warm and welcoming family, unlike his natural one that was full of judgement and strictness. That's why he cared so much, more than anyone.

-

It's been some time since they've started heading after the rails. It must have been what, three hours? At least.   
The ones who weren't driving had the privilege of choosing between staring out of the window or sleeping - althought most of them were too shaken to sleep, so they opted to mindlessly regard the unchanging scene.

Sho however, as the only one with a driving license, had to drive and focus, and it made Ruki worry.   
Sho trued his best to stay collected but it was more than clear that both physically and mentally he was at his end. He would never admit to this of course, for the sake of the group. But Ruki could see it, 𝘚𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? was the question he wanted to ask. But he already knew the answer, they've talked about it just few nights ago, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

Sho has told Ruki this so, so many times, and Ruki had always yieled to the older's stubbornness, but not again.  
Well, never again.

"Sho ", Ruki said and softly tapped onto his shoulder, "Sho, I think we should stop and take a break. You desperately need one. "

Sho, as expected, shook is head. "No, we can't stop. What if we miss the train while resting? "

"I understand your concern but please, for the love of god, you need a break, because we can't lose you. "

Sho sighed, but eventually he gave in and they parked, in pretty close distance to the tracks, just in case.

The boys got outside and streched, rejoicing that they could finally get some fresh air.

Mame's gaze swayed around, but at a particular place it stayed. He made his way up there, towards the railway. It was worked of fine, but strong iron linings covered with wooden plankets. He balances on them, exenting his arm for support as he closes his eyes, and for once since forever, 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 

"Mame! Look out! "

Sukai was standing nearby him, only few metres away. 

"But there's no train coming.. "

"Still", Sukai said and walked up closer to him, but he still didn't step onto the tracks. "It's dangerous. "

Mame sighed and, while pounting slightly, he joined Sukai and they walked next to the tracks. 

"Why did you want to go on the tracks so bad? You've walked there almost immediately after we've stopped here. "

"I just... ", Mame started and looked down on his feet, "... I wanted to feel free. "

"Walking on the railway, it felt like I have a way in front of me that's... unlimited. I felt like nothing could stop me, like I'm free. ", he concluded.

"That's... " Sukai couldn't think of a proper way to answer. But he deeply agreed with the younger's thoughts. Probably felt like that. It's been always two months that they've been wandering around, trying to survive and stick together. They've lost so much, four of them, and even more, their peace and... their freedom.  
They all just... wanted to be free.

Sho had sat down on a small piece of log that was laying around. The others were playing around, sort of, Keigo and Junki were leaned against the truck and talked, Ren was chatting with Ruki and in the distance Mame was walking next to the railway with Sukai.

At least they can have a moment of peace now... Sho wanted to have one, too. He didn't want to worry so much, but unfortunately he just cared a lot. And what could he do about it? These kids were like his family, ths kind and warm one that he never has. And he knew that the boys thought similarly, they each other's dear loving family, and he's absolutly goinv to protect this bond with all his might, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 

He could have come to peace of mind with this thought, however, the eorld didn't seem to like that idea, because an upset scream interrupted his thoughts.

Keigo and Junki were circled by zombies. They didn't seem to have their guns with them - or else they would have fired already.  
The rest of the group was already rushing to help, Ren and Ruki opened up the fire and hit a few. Sho also joined them, but there was really a lot of zombies. Some of them had started to turn against the group instead of Junki and Keigo, who quickly took a small gap in the zombie circle to escape. And they succeeded.

Junki and Keigo weren't in immediate danger anymore but the zombies were still there, preparing to lunge at them. The gun trio managed to keep distance between them for a bit, but then Sho's gun made a 'click ' sound, signaling that he had no bullets left. He panicked and looked at the others, whose guns also clicked, signaling the same thing. Now its over, Sho thought. They'll die here. But at least they'd die together.

"GUYS!! " 

Before all of them could properly turn around to find the source of the shout, shots were already fired at the zombies that were close to the group, until the last one finally fell. When Sho could finally see where the shots as well as the yell came from, he fell to his knees.

"SYOYA? SHION?? "

The two boys waved from the freight train's window, full of smiles.

"Oh my god, I... I have no words... ", Sho said, full of joy as he broke out into a huge smile. Ruki, equally as glad, offered his hand to help Sho up.

"Come on board! ", Syoya gestured as he walked to the next door and opened it, with ease this time.

"I thought the door was so heavy? ", Keigo wondered.

"There's just a specific way to open it. So that it doesn't swing open during the travel. ", Shion explained, still at the window. Syoya unlocked the door and let everyone in. The boys gawked at the interior, it was nothing special bit it was the old style that was so nostalgic - and fascinating.

"Come, there's someone that wants to see you. ", Syoya explsined and once again gestured everyone to follow him.

"Syoya, you already sound like you've been riding on this train for ages! ", Junki chuckled.

"That's only thanks to our savior. He's the expert. ", Syoya just commented with a wide smile.  
For some reason, Shion and Syoya both had ridiculously wide smiles on their faces, not that they didn't smile much normally but even in the current situation they seemed a bit too happy and... mischievous.

The steps of the group echoed through the train as they reached the door that seemed to link to the locomotive, and the control room. Syoya held it open together with Shion for everyone to come in.

𝘰𝘩 𝘥é𝘫à 𝘷𝘶

First Ren could only seen all the machines and the engine, but then his glare shifted to something that tremendously stood out within the mostly black interior. A familiar color. One that Ren hadn't seen for weeks.

Everyone surely gasped loudly as they realised while Syoya and Shion laughed, but overpowering all of them, Ren gasped the loudest, holding his two hands in front of his mouth.

"TAKUMI?? "

𝘪'𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhmmm yeah thats it I AM SO SORRY gosh idk if its good but i have planned the end already so... theres only one chapter left after this one btw hehe

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment or reach me on Twitter @/shoseilovemail.


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